Cork stoppers for sealing the opening of a bottle have been known for many hundreds of years, and devices for removing such stoppers are correspondingly old. The oldest device for removing a cork is the well-known cork screw, a helical wire joined to a handle. The handle is rotated to advance the helix into the soft cork in screw thread fashion, and the tensile force is applied between the handle and the bottle to pull the cork stopper from the bottle opening. Variations on the cork screw device include lever handles or fulcrum links to create a mechanical advantage for pulling the cork stopper from the bottle. In addition, many cork screw assemblies are provided with a blade or similar utensil for cutting and stripping the foil wrap that covers the upper end of the bottle and the exposed end of the cork. The foil wrap is necessary to protect the cork from drying, shrinking, and deteriorating. Due to the fact that the foil is usually composed of lead, it is necessary to remove the foil from the bottle opening to eliminate the potential for contamination of the contents of the bottle by the lead foil as the liquid is poured from the bottle.
Cork screw devices are relatively easy to use, although most such devices require manual exertion and a certain amount of dexterity and time to accomplish the task. In recent years new forms of cork extractors have been developed to reduce the effort involved and simplify the task of cork removal. One such device employs a pair of parallel blades joined to a handle and disposed to be inserted in parallel alignment with the axis of the cork between the cork and the inner surface of the bottle neck. Once the blades are inserted, it is possible to rotate the handle and cork while pulling the handle to effect removal of the cork. This type of device is somewhat easier to use than a cork screw, although manual effort and exertion are required. A further development in the art comprises pressurized cork extractors, which rely on the injection of high pressure fluid or gas into the bottle to create a pressure within the bottle sufficient to force the cork from the bottle opening without manual effort.
The traditional cork screw, as well as the newer devices, are well adapted for use in opening wine bottles in small numbers; i.e., one to several bottles in a brief period of time. However, in a situation in which a large number of bottles must be opened in a relatively brief time, these devices are inefficient, labor intensive, and generally unsuitable for the task. For example, banquets, large restaurants, bar operations, and similar food service businesses require large numbers of wine bottles to be opened in a short amount of time, and time and effort expended in such tasks represent unnecessary expenses. Thus there is a need in the prior art for a device to remove a cork from a bottle opening easily and quickly with a minimum of manual intervention.